.22 OR .177?

[victor 10]

im thinking on getting a air rifle soon and i was wondering what caliber to get, ill mainly be shooting rabbits and the odd bird. the distance id like to shoot from would roughly be 25 to 30m.anny help will be verry helpful

[woz 260]

what power will the rifle be??? i use a 177 with 26 ftp and it is brilliant out to 30 or 40 yards..shot placement is very important though...if you are going to be using 12 ftp i would go fo 22 because there is slightly more kinetic energy....you need to be able to hit a half inch target consistantly or you will be having bunnys running off injured....

[gazandjen 54]

im thinking on getting a air rifle soon and i was wondering what caliber to get, ill mainly be shooting rabbits and the odd bird. the distance id like to shoot from would roughly be 25 to 30m.anny help will be verry helpful

 

I would suggest a .22 if you hunting. Bigger hitting power (even if it's not a head shot every time)

.177 is mostly target shooting but as alot would say they use .177 for both.

 

I personally use .22

[Grim Reaper 1]

I only have .177(legal limit), but that is down to personal choice - i have tried both calibres and have come to prefer .177. My own findings were that firing a 22 was akin to lopping a mortar on the quarry - because of the more pronounced trajectory, whereas the .177 was more of a 'surgical' and exact strike, like - no doubt due to the somewhat flatter trajectory?

 

Therefore, i use this calibre for both task, target shooting and hunting pests. I have managed to slot squirrels, rabbits, crows, maggies etc without fail (mainly head shots only mind, with only the occasional body shot here and there).

 

Hope this helps you in making your decision?

 

Regards,

Grim

Edited January 27, 2008 by Grim Reaper

[Coney 3]

.22 for fur and .177 for feather, personally I always opt for .22 as I find the impact from a 16-20gr pellet in .22 will dispatch all legal air gun quarry up to 35yds no problems (at 12ftlbs), but like everthing else we all have our own personal preferances and opinions I am sure you will recieve both on this site. At the end of the day it's up to you, regardless you will recieve plenty of useful info about what ever you need to know as there are some very clever individuals on this site who will steer you in the right direction as they have with me.

 

Hope this helps

Coney.

[AIRGUNNER 1]

I use the AA S410 carbine in .22 but did think about about getting a .177 calibre as theres a hell of a drop in price for a tin of pellets.

[bill88 6]

I would only use .177 at 12ftlb a .22 is as pointed out like throwing a mortar.At 12ftlbs its all about shot placement,and .177 certainly makes it much easier,as for stopping power i can take out rabbits at 30-35 yards no probs.Not quite on a par with some of the crackshots on here, who can shoot a crows eyeball out at 60+ yds with .22 springer ,but i shoot my fair share.

[theobenmike 0]

The old saying used to be .177 for feather, .22 for fur

Now to throw a spanner in the works, what about .20 cal?

[Malt 379]

This ones been asked time & time again over the years, and there's no definitive answer! It all comes down to personal preference. See if you can have a go of both before you buy, and then see which one you like.

[Deker 3,478]

This ones been asked time & time again over the years, and there's no definitive answer! It all comes down to personal preference. See if you can have a go of both before you buy, and then see which one you like.

 

 

Certainly has been asked before..been bouncing around forever this one, but I thought it had been convincingly won by .22 for hunting and .177 for target

 

So that's all sorted!

 

PS

12ft lb Power!

The .20 is meant to be the best of both worlds..problem is its the worst of both..it doesn't hit as hard as the .22 and isn't as flat shooting as the .177!

The .25 is an excellent Rat gun but pretty useless at anything else.

 

I'm off...Bye...

Edited January 28, 2008 by Deker

[ratbuster 807]

In Holland we don't have a restriction on the power output of our airrifles, only we are not allowed to hunt with them

 

The problem with the callibers is within the poweroutput of your gun, 12 fpe is doing best in .177, flatter trajectory, so more precise to hit the target. But the same gun in say 25 fpe will perform better in .22, less wind sensitive, flat shooting and hard hitting!

 

I also have . 20 & .25 calibers and my Theoben in .20 (12 fpe) hits as hard as a .22 with the new JSB's Exact in 15.2 grains (same weight as a standard .22 pellet) and .25 is coming in its own when going at a 60 fpe rate so they all have a place but at 12 fpe .177 is the best

 

Just my 0.2€

 

Ratbuster

[kipper33 0]

I have got an S400 in 1.77 which I got for target shooting, I had first blood this weekend with two squires and one pigeon, it dropped them with no problems, the pigeon was at 30 yards and dropped with out a flap.

 

Keith

[victor 10]

thank you for all of your advice. im leaning towards a .22 but ill have a go with a .177 and see how that are .

thank you.

[Deker 3,478]

what power will the rifle be??? i use a 177 with 26 ftp and it is brilliant out to 30 or 40 yards..shot placement is very important though...if you are going to be using 12 ftp i would go fo 22 because there is slightly more kinetic energy....you need to be able to hit a half inch target consistantly or you will be having bunnys running off injured....

I use a .177 11.6ftlb and i can regularly head shot stuff from 5 to 50 yrd's so im guessing with a 26ftlb you will be able to double your distance as long as the wind is calm..

Millet

 

 

Distance is another whole Hornets nest of debate (arguement)! Personally I would suggest 50yards with a 12ft lb .177 is a good shot! At 26ft lb with a .177 you are not looking to shoot at 100yards, I would suggest in normal circumstances 50 or 60 yards maybe.

 

My PCP in .22 does actually run at 26ft lb and I have it zeroed at 40 yards, I can easily push that to 50 and sometimes 60 yards with confidence. The gun still delivers almost exactly 12ft lb at 100 yards so it has plenty of stopping power, but that it far to long for normal shooting!

 

Discuss, debate or just start another thread to have a good scrap on!

[jamie g 17]

ive had both 22 and 177 in 12ftlb form. rapids mk 1 and 2. daystate, air arms, and i only use to use 22 in till i tryed my brothers 177 s410k air arms. i got one myself after that and would never go back to 22 in 12ftlb form now. 177 i find is better ive had doves out to 40 yards with it, and rabbits at 35 to 40 yards. i have 22 s10 in fac at 28ftlb and that is a great bit of kit. rabbits over 50 yards and pigeons and doves and magpies, over 50 yards to. get what suites you best mate. and put the time in on some targets

 

saying that i still have a mk1 rapid in 22 cal at 12ftlb, its picture 4 in my sig. should have it back from sam at cs firearms this week. its been for a service and power setup to run sweet. its for sale soon as i need money for centrefire. it has a load of extras

Edited January 29, 2008 by jamie g